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ournal
Fall 2009, Vol. 19 No. 3
Border Disorder
A new science journalism collaboration
SEJ annual award winners
Making the move: Newsroom to classroom
Plotting pollution
A quarterly publication of the
Society of Environmental Journalists
NewsPro
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SEJ
features
ournal
Fall 2009, Vol. 19 No. 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
New journalism-science initiatives alter how news is shaped page 5
By Bob Wyss
Veteran newspaper writer finds teaching’s hidden pleasures page 10
By William Dietrich
Disorder at the Borders: Photographers aim to document and protect page 16
borderland environments
page 5 By Roger Archibald
President’s Report: SEJ builds anew with EPA, starts Fund for Environmental
Journalism page 4
By Christy George
page 12
SEJ News: Awards report page 8
By Michael Mansur
columns
Inside Story: A mix for success — Music, a scientific family and some radiation page 12
By Bill Dawson
The Beat: New online efforts expand environment coverage page 15
By Bill Dawson
Media on the Move: In the journalism storms, these awards
and achievements stand out page 20
By Judy Fahys
Science Survey: Germ killer, largely unregulated, attracts new concern page 21
for wildlife
By Cheryl Hogue
Bits and Bytes: This tool willl quickly provide journalism’s most forgotten W page 22
By David Poulson
E-Reporting Biz: Letting the reader see your editorial judgments might
enhance them page 24
COVER PHOTO
By Bud Ward
A section of the recently constructed border wall sepa-
rating Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Ari- Reporter’s Toolbox: A key to improving your video — get good audio page 26
zona from the Mexican state of Sonora near the city of By Rob Sheppard
Sonoyta. Photo: © Jack Dykinga / iLCP
Book Shelf Book Reviews page 27
3 SEJournal Fall 2009
SEJ President’s Report
SEJ builds anew with EPA, starts Fund for Environmental Journalism
By CHRISTY GEORGE
As this issue goes to press, we are into the ninth • Also in February, SEJ wrote Lisa Jackson,
month of 2009, but it’s already a remarkably “meta” congratulating her on her appointment and asking her
year for SEJ. to “roll back fully the information blackout that
After spending months thinking about the crisis in was imposed on the Toxics Release Inventory in
journalism, the SEJ Board of Directors on August 1st recent years.”
voted to create a new Fund for Environmental • In June, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) held
Journalism. More on that in a minute. an oversight hearing on EPA press restrictions.
We have also been working hard to start off on • Also in June, SEJ’s WatchDog TipSheet Editor
the right foot with the new Obama administration’s Joe Davis attended an EPA meet and greet.
Environmental Protection Agency. • And in June, SEJ extended an invitation to speak
And SEJ is on the verge of electing two or more new board at SEJ’s October conference in Madison to Administrator Jackson,
members. Don’t forget to vote! as well as Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Interior Secretary
From the start of 2009, board members have been engaged in Ken Salazar and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
meta-thinking: what’s happening to the news business? How does • At the end of June, we heard from Jackson’s public
that affect environmental journalists as a whole, and our members affairs staff that they wanted to “meet your leadership for a getting
in particular? How will the losses and the new startups affect the to know you meet and greet/call.”
environmental coverage the public craves? And how should SEJ • That on-the-record conference call happened in early July.
respond on behalf of all our members, and the public? On the line from SEJ were Executive Director Beth Parke,
January saw the beginning of rewriting and rethinking SEJ’s Joe Davis and me. From EPA, Seth Oster, associate administrator
Strategic Plan, and the beginning of what’s sure to be a long-term for public affairs, Allyn Brooks-LaSure, deputy associate
quest for funding — not just to invest in SEJ’s work, but also to administrator for public affairs, Adora Andy, press secretary,
help environmental journalism in general. speech writer Michael Moats and our first contact, Shakeba
All this SEJ meta-thinking came as a new US president — one Carter-Jenkins, special assistant to the deputy associate adminis-
who appeared to understand the complexity and urgency of trator for public affairs.
environmental challenges like climate change, renewable energy
creation and how those issues link to a strong economy — took We spent a friendly and productive hour on the line, and
office and began staffing up federal environmental agencies. although we were braced for inconsequential pleasantries, the EPA
While SEJ has a keen interest in making sure all the new folks asked right away what our gripes were.
relationships go smoothly for everyone, especially given past We briefly outlined the most persistent issues: failure to call
difficulties with previous administrations, there is arguably no people back promptly, “minders” when reporters interview staff
single U. S. agency as important as the EPA. Over the years, SEJ scientists, a disconnect between how reporters inside and outside
has held numerous “Meet your EPA PIO” events at past annual the Beltway are treated, the Bush-era legacy of FOIA denials and
conferences, and invited the new EPA chief to be part of a the lack of notification of upcoming press conferences. (If
plenary session at the SEJ conference. We hope to do both this anyone is still having trouble with that, sign up for both
fall in Madison. your EPA region and for headquarters emails here:
In early July, SEJ and top officials of EPA Administrator Lisa http://www.epa.gov/newsroom/email_signups.htm ).
Jackson’s staff had a conference call at their initiative. And, at their Their takeaway message for us was “we’re not the Bush
urging, we detailed frequent causes of friction between EPA and administration.” They understand there’s a lot of “baggage
SEJ members. journalists are still carrying around from the last eight years.” They
Here’s a short timeline of how we got there: said “those weren’t the best practices,” and added, “those days are
• In the wake of last December’s devastating coal ash spill left behind.” They asked us to ask you to “give us the benefit
in Tennessee, SEJ wrote the outgoing Bush EPA outlining the of the doubt.”
difficulty the public, and our members, were having getting access Our takeaway message for them was “transparency and
to information about the spill, especially environmental monitor- access,” or as Joe Davis put it, “access, access, access, access.”
ing data. We also asked EPA to post data on the EPA website the To use the hackneyed cop-out, only time will tell if this
minute it’s available, citing the Electronic Freedom of Information promising beginning will stick, but I am cautiously optimistic.
Act of 1996. Perhaps the best sign of all was the early release of raw data from
• In February, a month later, we got an answer from the the TRI on August 18th, though as we go to press, we have yet to
interim Region 4 administrator, explaining the trouble they’d had see the analysis.
initially, detailing the work they’d done since in publicizing test At the risk of burying the lead, let me finish with SEJ’s newest
results and promising to do better. continued on page 25
4 SEJournal Fall 2009
Feature
New journalism-science initiatives
alter how news is shaped
PHOTO BY KEN WEISS / COMPASSONLINE.ORG
Participants watch Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post (far left) conduct a mock interview during a COMPASS workshop in March 2009.
By BOB WYSS
and journalist, Heidi Cullen, formerly with The Weather Channel.
When Michael Lemonick recently completed a story for At the Princeton, N.J.-based organization, scientists upset about
Newsweek about a plan to help less developed nations cope with how the press has reported climate issues have begun producing
climate change, he did not give the article at first to his editors. the news for print, broadcast and online sources.
Instead, he asked several scientists to review it. Sometimes, Other scientists are seeking training so that they can better
Lemonick knew, scientists want to make changes that will bore communicate with the press, the public and decision-makers.
readers. Then he must debate them about the changes. But this For nearly 10 years now the Communication Partnership for
time the changes were few and easy to make. He turned the story Science and the Sea (COMPASS) has been training scientists on
in, and Newsweek ran it. how to communicate with reporters. The organization has worked
Lemonick works for Climate Central, a non-profit news closely with the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program at Stanford,
organization composed of scientists and journalists who provide Calif. which shares many of the same goals.
news about the science of global warming. Increasingly, programs on how scientists can better
The former Time magazine correspondent is still getting used communicate are showing up at a variety of scientific meetings
to conferring with his science colleagues because the arrangement and conferences.
breaks the old rules giving the writer and editor final say Nancy Baron, director of ocean science outreach for
over a story. COMPASS, estimates the organization trains more than a
“At Climate Central I don’t own the story, I collaborate thousand scientists each year in programs ranging from several
with scientists to present a story that is reasonable and hours up to a week.
engaging,” he said. So far he has found the process far more Not everyone in the science community agrees that the role of
“intellectually honest.” a scientist is to talk to the public.
A growing number of scientists appear to be climbing down “There are many, many scientists who still do not think it is
from their ivory towers. In doing so, they are threatening to change their job,” she said. “Primarily the older scientists have that
journalism, including how the environment is covered. viewpoint. Many of the younger scientists clearly see the need.”
The most prominent example is Climate Central, which was Climate Central has been hailed as a new model for science
established last year and features the work of a longtime scientist and environmental journalism. While scientists at the organization
5 SEJournal Fall 2009
PO Box 2492, Jenkintown, PA 19046 do not completely agree on what the future holds, clearly a change
Ship:115 West Avenue, Suite 301
Jenkintown, PA 19046 is already under way.
Below are reports on two of these organizations at the
ournal Ph 215-884-8174
Fax 215-884-8175
forefront of the movement to open up science.
© 2009 by the Society of Environmental Journalists.
COMPASS
The mission of the organization is to strengthen the quality, reach and viability of journalism
across all media to advance public understanding of environmental issues.
Editor: Mike Mansur COMPASS was originally created to assist marine
Assistant Editor: Bill Dawson scientists but it has helped train scientists in a broad range
Design Editor: Linda Knouse
of disciplines.
Photo Editor: Roger Archibald
The workshops will vary but they are usually run by journal-
Section Editors ists and can include lectures, coaching during mock interviews
Book Shelf: Elizabeth Bluemink
and other sessions that are taped and critiqued either by the jour-
Research Roundup: Jan Knight
E-Reporting Biz: Bud Ward
nalist or by the entire group of scientists. Topics can range from
Reporter’s Toolbox: Robert McClure discussions about why the cultures of science and journalism
Science Survey: Cheryl Hogue clash, advice on how to think like a journalist, to better under-
SEJ News: Chris Rigel standing of how to get one’s message across. The organization is
The Beat: Bill Dawson
funded by a combination of grants and workshop fees.
Editorial Board
The most ambitious of these workshops is held by the 20
Robert McClure (chair), Elizabeth Bluemink, A. Adam Glenn, Bill Kovarik,
fellows selected each year from around the country by the Leopold
Mike Mansur, David Sachsman, JoAnn M. Valenti, Denny Wilkins
Program at Stanford University. Fellows spend a week of
training from COMPASS on learning communication skills, and
SEJ Board of Directors another session on how to deal with public policy makers.
President, Christy George
Oregon Public Broadcasting
First Vice President/Program Chair, Carolyn Whetzel
BNA
Second Vice President/Membership Chair, Cheryl Hogue
Chemical and Engineering News
Secretary, Mark Schleifstein
Times-Picayune
Treasurer/Finance Chair, Peter P. Thomson
Public Radio International’s The World
PHOTO BY KEN WEISS
Future Conference Sites Chair, Don Hopey
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
James Bruggers
The Courier-Journal
Jeff Burnside
WTVJ-TV, NBC, Miami
Dina Cappiello Nancy Baron of COMPASS, Christopher Joyce of National Public Radio
AP and James Lindholm of CSU share a laugh during a mock interview
Peter Fairley scenario at a COMPASS workshop.
Independent Journalist
Robert McClure Baron said that the training programs aimed primarily at
InvestigateWest academic or research groups, such as a specific university or a
Tim Wheeler science-based organization. However, it has also provided
Baltimore Sun
assistance to groups such as the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Representative for Academic Members, Bill Kovarik
Radford University
The New York-based organization, created in 1895, says that its
Representative for Associate Members, Rebecca Daugherty mission is “to save wildlife and wild places across the globe.”
Independent Journalist Baron said that in such situations the organization is asked to
Founding President, Jim Detjen include not only its own staff scientists but to also invite other
Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Michigan State University government and academic scientists with similar interests.
Executive Director, Beth Parke She said COMPASS has no interest in simply serving as a
Director of Programs and Operations, Chris Rigel
public relations tool to help get an organizational message or
Visit www.sej.org brand out. “We only want to help the scientists get out a science
SEJournal (ISSN: 1053-7082) is published quarterly by the Society of Environmental Journalists, P.O.
message,” she said.
Box 2492, Jenkintown, PA 19046. Send story ideas, articles, news briefs, tips and letters to Editor Mike COMPASS also works with individual scientists or teams of
Mansur, Kansas City Star, mmansur@sej.org. The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) is a non-profit,
tax exempt, 501(c)3 organization funded by grants from foundations, universities and media companies, mem- scientists who have completed ground-breaking research and
ber dues and fees for services. SEJ does not accept gifts or grants from non-media corporations, government
agencies or advocacy groups. Its membership is limited to journalists, educators and students who do not lobby
want to make sure their study receives attention in the press. This
or do public relations work on environmental issues. For non-member subscription information see more individualized training usually happens only a few times a
www.sej.org under publications.
year, usually when a study is about to be released by Science or at
the annual meeting of the American Association for the
6 SEJournal Fall 2009
The combination of the economic
recession and the ongoing transfor-
mation of the news media
has posed unexpected problems,
according to Berrien Moore III,
operations manager.
IMAGE COURTESY OF CLIMATE CENTRAL
While Climate Central has a $4
million annual budget, largely
because of a grant from the Schmidt
Family Foundation, Moore said that
losses in many philanthropic endow-
ments have made fund-raising more
difficult. Moore, who formerly ran
the Institute for the Study of Earth,
Oceans and Space at the University
of New Hampshire, has begun turn-
ing to government sources to finance
up to one-third of the operation.
Example of graphics used in Climate Central stories: carbon dioxide capture at a coal-burning power plant. The dramatic cutbacks in print
and broadcasting posed even more
complicated issues for Climate Central in deciding where and how
Advancement of Science (AAAS).
to disseminate its reporting. The organization spent much of this
In these sessions the scientists can receive help with prepar-
year working on a website that would serve as a platform to
ing press releases and press packages, and assistance in getting
provide news, stories and broadcasts and other climate informa-
ready for interviews and press conferences. This can include
tion to existing media and the public.
staging mock interviews and then critiquing them.
In the interim, Climate Central has produced a series
Baron said these sessions came about when scientists sought
of stories that aired on the PBS NewsHour. The first was a
out COMPASS for help and the organization responded. She said
feature on how a climate-related drought in Montana was
the studies are carefully vetted to make certain that they are well
changing stream flows and threatening trout populations. Others
grounded in science and not advocacy.
have aired on the effects of climate on Iowa’s corn crop, Georgia
When Baron was interviewed this past summer she was in
coal production, and the installation of a carbon counter
the midst of working with scientists preparing for a July 31
in New York City.
release in Science about the state of the world’s fisheries. The
Cullen, who has a doctorate from Columbia University and
study by 20 scientists received widespread coverage from the wire
formerly hosted Forecast Earth on The Weather Channel, is
services, major newspapers, broadcasters including PBS and
excited about the possibilities this new venture holds. She said
online sites both nationally and internationally.
the goal is to make science, and especially climate news, more
A study that mapped the health of the world’s oceans,
readily accessible and visual.
released in February 2008 at the AAAS meeting, received similar
For instance, for the Montana and other NewsHour stories,
assistance from COMPASS. The media preparations involved in
Climate Central has produced annotated scripts that document
that release were discussed at a breakfast meeting at last year’s
SEJ conference in Roanoke, Va. continued on page 9
IMAGE COURTESY OF CLIMATE CENTRAL
Climate Central
It is one thing to occasionally talk to
reporters or prepare for a press confer-
ence, and another for scientists to go to
work for a news organization such as
Climate Central.
“Ultimately what we are seeking is to
bring the scientific research, as it relates
to climate change, to the public,”
explained Cullen. “We are like a little
research organization that tries to visualize
climate change research.”
Designed on a non-profit model
similar to ProPublica, which specializes in
investigative journalism, Climate Central
has a staff of 15 composed primarily of
scientists with several longtime journalists. Graphics used to illustrate the relationship of occurrence of snowmelt to wildfires in the West.
7 SEJournal Fall 2009
SEJ News
SEJ annual award winners: From books to investigations to explanatory gems
Pollution near schools, biological invaders, climate change (of course) and the tangled web of the environment and heredity. And
those are but a few of the topics detailed by the award-winning entries in the Society of Environmental Journalists’ 2008-2009 Awards for
Reporting on the Environment. SEJ’s journalism contest — the world’s largest and most comprehensive awards for journalism on
environmental topics — recognized 31 entries in 11 categories. Reporters, editors and journalism educators who served as contest judges
pored over 187 entries to choose the finalists representing the best environmental reporting in print and on television, radio, the Internet
and in student publications. SEJ will honor the winners Oct. 7, 2009, at a gala ceremony in the Concourse Hotel and Governor’s Club in
Madison, Wis., on the first day of SEJ’s 19th annual conference. The Rachel Carson Environment Book Award winner will receive $10,000
and a pair of marble bookends bearing the contest, book and author information. The student winner will receive $250, a crystal trophy
and up to $750 in travel assistance to the annual conference. Each of the other winning entries will receive $1,000 and a crystal trophy.
For a complete list of winners go to www.sej.org
SEJ's Rachel Carson Environment Book Award: With clear, crisp and engaging prose, Weiss brought home the climate
First Place: Andrew Nikiforuk change story like few seasoned journalists have before him. Though his work
Co-published by Greystone Books and the David Suzuki Foundation was limited primarily to oceans, shorelines and Pacific Ocean fishing, Weiss went
Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent way beyond futuristic modeling and examined the here and now between
Nikiforuk paints an alarming picture in northern Alberta, Canada: Interna- southern California and Alaska.
tional oil companies clear cut huge swaths of boreal forest, rake off the boggy soil,
scoop up giant shovelfuls of oil sands with the largest machines on earth and Outstanding Explanatory Reporting, Print
use copious amounts of boiling water to separate tarry bitumen from the sand so First Place: Valerie Brown
it can be turned into petroleum for your car in Kansas. The toxic residue that Miller-McCune Magazine
comes off the sands is stored behind gigantic dikes that leak, and downstream Environment Becomes Heredity
people and fish are sick. In "Environment Becomes Heredity," Valerie Brown deftly explains the
thorny issue of whether chemical exposure can trigger multi-generational health
Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding Investigative Reporting, Print problems. Brown employs a solid scientific knowledge, plain English, and humor
First Place: Blake Morrison and Brad Heath to reveal how mothers exposed to certain chemicals may be passing genetic time
USA TODAY bombs on to their children and grandchildren.
The Smokestack Effect
A team from USA TODAY led by reporters Blake Morrison and Brad Heath Outstanding Online Reporting
analyzed millions of government records, led a nationwide canvas of independ- First Place: Kristen Lombardi, Steven Sunshine, Sarah Laskow,
ent air monitoring, and investigated polluting industries near schools in an David Donald
exhaustive and original reporting project that proved the air outside hundreds of The Center for Public Integrity
schools was rife with toxic chemicals unknown to parents, school officials and The Hidden Costs of Clean Coal
health authorities Most people know that mining coal is a dirty business. Kristen Lombardi,
with powerful imagery, offers readers another startling way that the reality of the
Outstanding Beat, In-Depth Radio industry that supplies half of America’s power falls far short of its “clean coal”
First Place: David Baron public relations campaign. Lombardi takes readers by the hand to witness the
Independent producer for NPR's All Things Considered unintended consequences of “longwall mining.” In an age of increasingly
Shifting Ground shallow reports dominating the Internet, it’s refreshing — and vital — to see a
Baron's pieces exhibited outstanding original research, excellent personal- package so richly reported and engaging. The interactive document library,
ization of the stories, excellent use of natural sound and interesting interviews to podcast, map and video add richness to the presentation in ways that
clarify each story. Exactly what enterprising radio journalism should be. Each demonstrate the power of the online medium.
piece was entertaining and together formed a series on land-use conflicts not
often reported on by the media. Outstanding Small-Market Reporting, Print
First Place: Lowell Brown amd Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe
Outstanding Beat/In-depth Reporting, Television Denton Record-Chronicle
First Place: David Novack, Richard Hankin, Samuel Henriques, Scott Behind the Shale
Shelley The Denton Record-Chronicle’s series “Behind the Shale” sets the stan-
Sundance Channel/The Green dard for reporting on environmental issues at small-circulation publications. With
Burning the Future: Coal in America striking personal detail, the paper’s reporters told a great behind-the-scenes story
A superbly balanced, focused, visual and personal narrative. Crafted solely about how land deals really work in Texas. It’s not a pretty sight: example after
through the eyes and voices of its subjects, this documentary's power is found in example showed how the tables are tilted to favor corporations and lawyers over
the unflinching effort to offer wide-ranging perspective regarding coal and our residents and how little government agencies had done to curb abuses.
nation's energy needs.
Outstanding Story, Television, Large Market
Outstanding Beat Reporting, Print First Place: Christopher Bauer, Jenny Oh, Josh Rosen, Laurie Schmidt, Paul
First Place: Kenneth R. Weiss, Rogers
Los Angeles Times KQED 9 San Francisco
A Warming Sea: Subtle Changes Can Have Profound Impacts QUEST: Tagging Pacific Predators
continued on page 20
8 SEJournal Fall 2009
New Journalism-Science Initiatives very few questions about his affiliation to Climate Central because
continued from page 7 he has had a long-term relationship with the editor who he has
sources. She would also like to provide climate facts to kept abreast of the organization’s development. Editors at other
meteorologists in the top markets. So on a particularly warm day, publications have sometimes asked questions to clarify Climate
they could report on how many additional days at that level could Central’s non-profit status and funding sources before accepting
be anticipated by the end of the century. his stories.
Lemonick also had been producing stories for print publica- Most of those interviewed at Climate Central believed that
tions, although he anticipated he would be working more for the the non-profit model they are using will likely be developed more
website as it developed. in the future to get out technical information.
The biggest challenge for the practitioners has been the often Will scientists take the roles played in the past by journalists?
spirited discussions that break out between the journalists and the “No, I don’t think so,” replied Cullen. “What is interesting is
scientists on how to produce a story or broadcast that is both that everything is changing so much. Some scientists will put their
scientifically sound and yet still interesting to the general public. foot into the journalistic shoe, but we need hard-core journalists
“The scientists sometimes will say that this issue is far too just as much as we need scientists.”
complex of a process to dumb down,” said Cullen. “There is a lot Moore thinks more scientists will join the fray, and he says it
of discussion on this and some scientists are not comfortable with is already happening in areas such as medicine. “I think it will
going too far in this direction.” happen for two reasons,” he said. “First, science is becoming
Lemonick added, “We are learning each other’s culture in a increasingly more important, including to the fabric of economic
pretty fundamental way.” life. And two, the new media situation now allows for that
The other guiding tenet for the news stories is that they have involvement to take place.”
to be based solidly on the science and not stray into advocacy. One But in joining the public tussle, scientists will likely be
reason many of the scientists on the staff agreed to leave their challenged and will have to work hard to protect their credibility
research or teaching positions is that they were so outraged by the and the integrity of their research. Added Moore: “It will
combination of politics and distorted news coverage on the definitely come with more risks.”
climate issue that they felt impelled to do something.
So far, news organizations, many of which have been Bob Wyss is an associate professor of journalism at the
dramatically reduced in both staff and resources, have accepted University of Connecticut and and the author of Covering the
the stories and broadcasts with no qualms. Environment. He teaches journalism and science students how to
Lemonick said Newsweek accepted his climate story with better communicate.
Advertisement
9 SEJournal Fall 2009
Feature
Veteran newspaper writer finds teaching’s hidden pleasures
By WILLIAM DIETRICH
We’re midway through an academic quarter at Western Zen monk) who in 1979 founded a student environmental screed
Washington University’s Planet magazine, and it’s time for that began as a crude mimeographed sheet. Its name, The Monthly
second-draft panic. Planet, was a play off the Daily Planet of Superman fame.
The spring of 2009 is our student environmental magazine’s Over the years, Planet became a magazine quarterly and one
30th Anniversary, and we’ve got stories with no point, stories with of several WWU publications supported by student fees. Its current
gaping holes, stories that ignore AP style, stories with no lead, annual budget is about $35,000. Planet takes a local and regional
stories that stop instead of end, approach to environmental issues,
stories with no pictures, and pictures and while it makes no claim to
with no stories. “cover” the environment, it regularly
By the pajamas of Captain scoops the pros by getting some
Planet, have I jumped from the stories first. It has won a series of
frying pan of daily journalism’s regional and national awards.
freefall to the frustrating fires of The university itself is gener-
academia? Can the magazine (and ally at the leading wave of environ-
thus the world) be saved? mental thinking, with early programs
Even worse, does anyone listen on recycling, efficient automobiles
to a thing I say? and sustainability. Students have
Eventually. Written comments, voted to assess themselves extra fees
helpful suggestions, a timed tirade, to buy renewable energy through the
coaching by student editors, encour- local utility, and campus newspaper
agement, blandishment, and positive stories blasting pollution predated
examples — combined with the the first Earth Day.
usual student habit of last-minute Academically I’m an odd
frenzy — produces third-draft resur- duck, but that’s tolerated at this
rection yet again. university. I was a newspaper jour-
Hallelujah, in five weeks we’ve nalist starting in 1973, ramped down
taken student reporters, many of to half-time until I left the Seattle
them with no journalistic experience, Times in a December 2008 buyout,
to authorship of reasonably sophisti- and am an author of not just sober
cated environmental stories. The environmental books but commercial
final product — 32 pages, ten COURTESY OF THE PLANET / PHOTO BY PAUL ISRAEL historical thrillers. I came on as a
stories, 28 pictures — makes me half-time, tenure-track professor
The Winter 2009 issue of The Planet
proud to be affiliated as the adviser. without an advanced degree: hired
In the end, the students won’t let Planet, or our planet, down. for my practical knowledge, a shared Pulitzer, and my long-time
If teaching environmental journalism is more challenging and affiliation with WWU as an alum.
time-consuming than I expected when I began in the fall of 2006 My program is odd, too. Environmental journalism majors
— after 33 years as a newspaper reporter — it’s also more take a combination of classes from Huxley and WWU’s journalism
rewarding. For my colleagues being squeezed by newsroom budget department, with me straddling both. Just as Planet magazine
apocalypse, I recommend it as a possibility. was founded by students, this combined major was the result of
I’m the fifth faculty adviser in Planet’s history, and the first student demand.
with mainstream journalistic experience. Three were academics The magazine averages 30 students a quarter, most with no
and another was an apostle of alternative advocacy journalism. All interest in traditional mainstream journalism as a career. They’re
of us brought valuable perspective to the environmental journalism suspicious of the media, worried about the environment, and
program at Huxley College of the Environment, a division excited about writing.
of WWU, which is located near the Canadian border in With an early magazine mission statement of “environmental
Bellingham, WA. advocacy through responsible journalism,” my initial concern was
Huxley, which turns 40 next year, is one of the nation’s first that I’d have to rein in rabid environmentalists with the harness of
environmental colleges. It was Huxley student Brian Blix (now a objective journalism.
10 SEJournal Fall 2009What I actually found were young adults trying to negotiate desirable possibility. They see themselves as environmental
a minefield of technological change, journalistic upheaval, and communicators more likely to wind up with NGOs, agencies,
environmental debate with far less certainty than my boomer consulting firms, or schools.
generation enjoyed. So environmental journalism becomes a means to a more
For most, political memory extends back at most to the basic end. My real job is teaching research skills, critical thinking,
Monica Lewinsky scandal. Theirs is a post-9/11 world of two careful observation, conciseness and the need to challenge one’s
wars, two recessions, a stagnant stock market, endless culture own assumptions. We try to inculcate curiosity: to ask why,
clash, tight elections, and relentless hype and spin. The line instead of accepting how things are.
between news and entertainment has become confused. Because the university is on a quarter system, there’s never
What they retain, bless them, is the energy, optimism and enough time. Query letters are written the night of the first day of
eagerness of youth. class, and stories assigned the next day. There are three drafts to
Instead of guiding genteel ivory tower debate over the finer weigh in on, peer edits, individual conferences — and boom, final
points of environmental journalism — which is what I thought I draft in five to six weeks. Editing, designing, printing and distri-
might be doing — I find myself mostly teaching basic skills. How bution consumes another four weeks. In a university of about
do you tell a story, instead of simply regurgitating a report? 14,000 students we have the budget for roughly 2,000 copies
How do you interview strangers? Can you identify a clear (on 100 percent recycled paper.) This is supplemented by a
problem, and clear solution, in a mass of information? How website, http://planet.wwu.edu. Spring quarter saw the magazine’s
do writers and photographers work together? What’s it like first video production: 21st Century, here we come!
to be edited by your peers? How do you manage time to There’s no question that I learn more than the students do,
meet deadlines? another hidden pleasure of teaching. But will this generation
Some of my students have never been to a factory or farm, save the world?
never met an elected official, never interviewed a scientist, and They will if given the chance. The pool of young talent
never used a newspaper archive. is as deep as it ever was — if editors ever get a newsroom budget
And just how do environmental journalists do what we to tap it.
do? Translating career second-nature into teachable formulas
is a challenge.
Most of my students don’t expect to be newspaper environ- William Dietrich, a longtime science and environment
mental reporters any more than they expect to be supermodels or writer at The Seattle Times, also has authored non-fiction books
pro basketball players: it’s not perceived as a realistic or even and novels.
Advertisement
11 SEJournal Fall 2009Inside Story
A mix for success: Music, a scientific family and some radiation
By BILL DAWSON
PHOTO COURTESY VALERIE BROWN
Valerie Brown, an Oregon-based freelance singer-songwriter, working for about 12 years in Port-
journalist, found her way into journalism some- land, Oregon. Played a lot of clubs. Eventually burned
what later in life than many people do — details out owing to the wretched working conditions and the
below — but has clearly made up for lost time. extremely low pay. Dithered around for several years
Brown was selected recently as the first-place being depressed and working for lawyers (a circum-
winner for Outstanding Explanatory Reporting, stance unlikely to cure depression). Finally decided to
Print, in SEJ’s 8th Annual Awards for Reporting on finish up the old bachelor’s degree, and the fastest way
the Environment. She earned the honor for her to do that was to major in general studies with a focus in
article in Miller-McCune magazine, “Environment social science, mainly history, political science and
Becomes Heredity,” which discussed research in women’s studies.
Valerie Brown
the field of epigenetics. In my last year of that effort, I took some writ-
In defining that term, Wikipedia starts with this passage: ing classes and entered three writing competitions — one local
“In biology, the term epigenetics refers to changes in pheno- short story competition, a national essay contest, and the local
type (appearance) or gene expression caused by mechanisms other weekly’s essay contest. Won first in fiction and the national essay
than changes in the underlying DNA sequence, hence the name prize, third in the local essay. This was shocking. I decided to
epi- (Greek: over; above) -genetics. These changes may remain interpret it as a sign that I should morph my songwriting skills into
through cell divisions for the remainder of the cell’s life and may some other form of writing. Since creative writing promised even
also last for multiple generations.” fewer real-life rewards than the musical life, I figured I should be
Here’s what the SEJ judges had to say about Brown’s skillful a journalist. And because I was already, ahem, mature — but with-
treatment of a subject that has potentially great significance but out any relevant experience — I thought maybe a master’s degree
whose complexity might have daunted many other writers: in journalism would help bridge that gap. Besides, with such a
“In ‘Environment Becomes Heredity,’ Valerie Brown deftly nebulous undergraduate degree, only a journalism graduate
explains the thorny issue of whether chemical exposure can trigger program would take me.
multi-generational health problems. Brown employs a solid scien-
tific knowledge, plain English, and humor to reveal how mothers Q: Have you always been a freelancer or did you ever hold
exposed to certain chemicals may be passing genetic time bombs a job or jobs as a staff journalist first?
on to their children and grandchildren. She also describes the A: Always been a freelancer. The musical life had sort of
vehicle for those inherited impacts — not DNA, but the protein predetermined my fate in that respect. Also I didn’t think I could
structures that package all genetic materials. Brown’s ability to live on the starting salary of a staff reporter, which as I recall was
break down the complicated scientific details surrounding how about $12,000 a year at the time, so I kept the option of working
environmental impacts can affect future generations of animals was part-time for lawyers open since I could make better money faster
educational and entertaining — a rare combination in a story that and lawyers would pay my health insurance. Also I didn’t want to
dives into molecular biology, toxicology and genetics.” move to a really small town and write about high school wrestling
Brown responded to emailed questions by SEJournal’s for five years before a city daily would consider me.
Bill Dawson.
Q: When and why did you decide to specialize in writing
Q: First, please tell me a little about your journalistic about science? Did you have a background in science?
career. I understand that you did non-journalistic work for a A: I don’t have any formal training in science. My dad had a
number of years before deciding to go into journalism. What degree in geology and two of his brothers graduated in metallurgy
prompted that decision? Why journalism? Why did you decide from the Colorado School of Mines. One brother worked for the
to get a master’s degree as a way to get into the field? Atomic Energy Commission and the other was basically a hard
A: A journalism career was foreshadowed in high school, rock prospector. My dad also loved physics and astronomy.
when I wangled my way onto the paper staff without actually He built an interferometer out of scrap materials in our
taking the journalism classes. But as a young adult, music was basement because he wasn’t quite convinced that the speed of light
much more compelling — I’d taken years of classical piano and is constant and wanted to check Einstein’s work (and Miller’s,
played the flute in band. After dropping out of college I became a Michaelson’s and Morley’s). I grew up with Science magazine,
12 SEJournal Fall 2009The Journal of Geophysical Research, and Scientific American There are reasons for optimism in the tiny, tangled world of
around the house. This got me accustomed to reading stuff I had epigenetics.” Is this an approach or style that you often use?
not the slightest clue about, and to begin to pick out its meaning A: I used to use it a lot more when I was writing for weekly
from context. newspapers, which tend to have a snarky tone. Then I started
writing for Environmental Health Perspectives, and my editor at
Q: How did you get interested in writing about epigenet- the time was also a lawyer. She purged my writing of the snark,
ics? Was it one particular study that intrigued you? A tip from and a good thing, too. But EHP readers are more likely to be
a scientist source? Accumulating information you gleaned scientifically literate, whereas a lay audience needs some encour-
from various places? agement from time to time. Plus, if you’re writing about the
A: I think I was trolling through digests of scientific reports horrors of chemical exposures we seem powerless to prevent,
and came across the tidbit about the female rats rejecting all males humor is just about the only thing to cling to.
from the lineage of the one female exposed to vinclozolin during
pregnancy. Wow! Speed dating! Multigenerational effects! I was Q: The epigenetics article is long and multifaceted,
also gobsmacked just by the idea of epigenetics, because I have weaving together a lot of different information — history,
always been skeptical of the random-mutation-by-cosmic-rays- accounts of different studies, basic science. Was there one
drives-evolution idea. I read a book some years ago by an or a couple of aspects of doing it that you found unusually
Australian paleontologist who argued that the length of time spent difficult or challenging?
in various developmental stages was what distinguished many A: Molecular biology, molecular biology, molecular biology.
species of dinosaur from each other — in other words, they had Talk about impenetrable. Also, it would have been easy to get
almost identical genomes except for the parts specifying the time distracted by the female rats’ seemingly psychic ability to
spent, say, developing the identify male rats whose grand-
femur; and variations like “ ... the dose really doesn’t make the poison, mother had been dosed with
this would determine size, vinclozolin — how do they do
extent of armor plating and it’s more like this dose plus that exposure at that? (Probably pheromones.) But
other attributes. Sort of like this developmental stage makes the the scientists were much more
dog breeds. So it seemed focused on the evidence of multi-
there were many things poison. And what happens in the womb generational effects and not that
affecting development and mesmerized by the females’
speciation besides stray
doesn’t stay there – it can send out little detection mechanism.
cosmic rays, and perhaps time bombs to go off many years later.”
organisms could be much Q: Tell me about your other
more flexible in adapting to environmental changes. You might work. Are there particular topics or fields that you specialize
not have to change a gene or acquire a new one to change the in, things that you write about more often than others? Does
organism, and adaptive changes might be more common than all of your work fall into the “explanatory” category? Do you
was thought. concentrate on longer pieces like the epigenetics story? Apart
Epigenetics strongly influences when and how genes are from Miller-McCune, are there particular publications you
expressed, and this means you don’t have to have a mutated gene write for regularly?
to cause disease. You can just have the odd methyl group snipped A: There are lots of teachers on both sides of my family, and
off or put in the wrong place. And that means you might be able I like explaining things to people. I’ve put together a couple of
to fix the methyl deployment and cure or prevent a disease. PowerPoint presentations and I enjoy giving those talks also.
Epigenetics also helps explain why looking for genetic causes of Besides EHP and Miller-McCune, I write occasionally for Forest
diseases, and gene therapy, haven’t panned out as well as hoped. Magazine and have written for Science, High Country News,
I have also been interested in low-level exposures to chemi- Environmental Science & Technology and the American Journal
cals and radiation for a long time, and suspicious of claims that of Public Health.
such exposures are nothing to worry about. It is starting to emerge I think specialization in a difficult subject can be helpful.
that such exposures may cause epigenetic changes without directly After I’d been writing for weeklies for awhile, and was completely
affecting genes. This is going to further roil up both the chemical disgusted by the 13-cents-a-word pay scale, I went to the library
and radiological status quo – the dose really doesn’t make the and found a directory of associations. I paged through it until I
poison, it’s more like this dose plus that exposure at this develop- found the National Association of Science Writers. Joining the
mental stage makes the poison. And what happens in the womb NASW was the single most effective thing I did to improve my
doesn’t stay there — it can send out little time bombs to go off freelance opportunities early on (not to say SEJ is less important
many years later. — I just didn’t join it right away). NASW membership led me to
All this just seems like big news to me. EHP. I took every assignment I was offered, and gradually
developed expertise in the health effects of industrial chemicals,
Q: Your article on epigenetics, a serious subject, combines metals, pesticides and so on. The field of environmental health is
artful explanation of some quite complex science with a changing rapidly, and there is convergence of toxicology,
casual, conversational and sometimes humorous tone — endocrinology, epi- and regular genetics, you name it — so it
passages like this one: “If you haven’t already dropped this remains very challenging to write lucidly about it, and it is just as
magazine and run away screaming, please keep reading. important as ever that there be intelligible and publicly available
13 SEJournal Fall 2009information about it.
I also remain obsessed with ionizing radiation. This is
To strengthen the quality, reach because I am a thyroid cancer survivor and was exposed to fallout
and viability of journalism across all from the Nevada Test Site starting in the womb and periodically
media to advance public understanding thereafter until I was about 10 years old. As many SEJers know,
of environmental issues the nuclear world is a fascinating nest of snakes. In addition to
health effects of radiation exposure, I’m getting more intrigued
by the nightmarish chemistry of radioactive substances and the
The Society of Environmental challenges it presents for dealing with weapons and power plant
Journalists (SEJ) is a non-profit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) waste. Interest in radiation is more of a handicap than an asset at
the moment, but I still think it’s important.
organization. The mission of SEJ is to strengthen the quality,
I do feel that the various threads of journalistic experience I
reach and viability of journalism across all media to advance have are converging because of global warming. Global warming
public understanding of environmental issues. As a network of brings together environmental health and energy issues (includ-
journalists and academics, SEJ offers national and regional ing nuclear) as well as earth sciences. I find this gratifying as I’m
conferences, publications and online services. SEJ’s member- interested in all of the above and I like to explain how they
ship of more than 1,500 includes journalists working for print are interrelated.
Because of my environmental health background and my
and electronic media, educators, and students. Non-members are
personal experience, I am also concerned that whatever solutions
welcome to attend SEJ’s annual conferences and to subscribe to we find to global warming and the other environmental crises we
the quarterly SEJournal. face, we bear environmental justice in mind. Heretofore we have
been perfectly willing to sacrifice some populations to benefit
Send story ideas, articles, news briefs, tips and letters to editor others. We need to examine this issue closely. If society decides to
Mike Mansur, Kansas City Star, 1729 Grant Ave., Kansas City, sacrifice some populations for the greater good, those populations
should be informed and cared for when they experience the
Mo. 64108, mansur.michael@gmail.com To submit books for
consequences of society’s choices.
review, contact Elizabeth Bluemink at ebluemink@gmail.com To complement areas of specialization, I think it probably
helps to diversify in some way as well. I want to be able to survive
For inquiries regarding the SEJ, please contact the SEJ office, in the Web era. I’ve just set up a blog. I’ve taken two online classes
PO Box 2492, Jenkintown, PA 19046; Ph: (215) 884-8174; in web page design and coding and am learning to use
Fax: (215) 884-8175; E-mail sej@sej.org Dreamweaver by trial and error. I took a Poynter webinar on Flash
capabilities for journalism. I’m signed up for the SEJ conference
workshop on creating video for the web. I have some skill in
SEJournal Submission Deadlines writing, performing and audio engineering music and other audio
that might come in handy in multimedia journalism. It’s all
Spring Issue February 1 content, and I’m a content provider, right?
Summer Issue May 1
Fall Issue August 1 Q: With staff reductions at many outlets offering an
increasing number of journalists the opportunity to consider
Winter Issue November 1
freelancing — or maybe it would be more accurate to say
confronting them with that necessity — I wonder if you have
To Advertise in SEJournal any thoughts to share with SEJ members on making a living
as a freelancer. Do you have any encouragement to offer?
Advertising rates are available on the SEJ website at Advice? Warnings?
www.sej.org or by emailing lknouse@sej.org A: Financially, I don’t, really. I am not a good model for how
to earn a steady income. I follow my nose. If I’m not interested in
something, I have trouble drumming up the energy to do the work
required to write about it. I do, however, cherish the autonomy of
To Subscribe to SEJournal freelancing. It’s not for sissies, and if you are a fashion plate, the
freelance life will be very difficult for you. But there are many,
Subscription information is available on the SEJ website at many more freelancers now than when I started — a big pool of
www.sej.org or by emailing lknouse@sej.org supportive colleagues. And the job is easier in some respects —
the Web makes it possible to identify and contact sources
anywhere in the world and to examine all kinds of information in
From the printer of SEJournal: “Our coated paper choices are relatively short order.
10% to 30% PCW, SFI Participant, FSC Certified, or both. One supplier is a Also, for persons of a certain age, if we lose a job it may be
member of the Rainforest Alliance. The pages are printed with a soy based ink that we will never get hired again. Learning to be self-propelled
... the entire journal can be recycled just like any other paper — although I don’t can be gratifying and liberating. Flexible hours are fabulous.
know why someone would throw away such a fine publication.”
Bill Dawson is the SEJournal’s assistant editor.
14 SEJournal Fall 2009The Beat
New online efforts expand environment coverage
By BILL DAWSON
Journalism’s future — certainly its future hope — is online. Internet, it’s refreshing — and vital — to see a package so richly
We’ve been told that for years now. Over and over. reported and explained in such an engaging and detailed way. The
In 2005, for instance, Northwestern University’s Rich interactive document library, podcast, map and video add richness
Gordon, writing for OJR: The Online Journalism Review, had an to the presentation in ways that demonstrate the power of the
upbeat piece headlined “Online opportunities make journalism’s online medium.”
future bright, despite gloomy feelings.” “Perils of the New Pesticides,” another CPI project, was the
In 2009, there’s plenty of argument about the degree of bright- second-place online winner. The judges said that the “team of
ness, so far, of that foretold future, but few would dispute the reporters (M.B. Pell, Jillian Olsen and Jim Morris) did a fantas-
future’s increasingly — though still, of course, far from entirely tic job mining a government database to uncover an astounding set
— online character. of statistics: that pyrethrins and pyrethroids account for more
Gordon suggested four years ago that the first years of the than a quarter of all fatal, major and moderate cases of adverse
21st century would be regarded, in hindsight, as “a period of human reaction.”
exploding opportunity for journalists and the start of an exciting ProPublica, a newer non-profit, online venture in investiga-
new era for journalism.” tive reporting that has made a considerable splash since its launch
I’ll leave it to others to debate whether the new era is yet in 2008, places its reports in several sections on its website, one of
living up to the “exploding” and “exciting” parts of that forecast. which is Energy & Environment. ProPublica publishes its work on
But there is certainly growing evidence that journalists are seizing its own site and through distribution to other news organizations
online opportunities, often that may publish it in
using non-profit business (Rich) Gordon suggested four years ago that print or broadcast form
models, to report on — an illustration of
environment issues along the first years of the 21st century would be growing synergy between
with other subjects. online journalism with
Consider the Pocan- regarded, in hindsight, as “a period of more traditional forms.
tico Declaration, issued in The organization, for
July following a meeting of exploding opportunity for journalists ...” example, won the third-
27 just-starting and well- place honor for investiga-
established news organizations at the Rockefeller Foundation’s tive reporting in the latest SEJ awards for Abrahm Lustgarten’s
Pocantico Conference Center in New York, many of which publish project, “Is Natural Gas Drilling Endangering U.S. Water
wholly or largely online. The manifesto expressed the signers’ Supplies?” Posted on the ProPublica site itself, it was picked up
intention to create a non-profit investigative news network in this by at least three newspapers, BusinessWeek magazine and
dramatic preamble: WNYC radio.
“Resolved, that we, representatives of nonprofit news organ- The SEJ judges said Lustgarten’s “stories on natural gas
izations, gather at a time when investigative reporting, so crucial drilling started in upstate New York and followed the “fracking”
to a functioning democracy, is under threat. There is an urgent need trail westward to Colorado and Wyoming, at each stage carefully
to nourish and sustain the emerging investigative journalism documenting how little regulators know about the environmental
ecosystem to better serve the public.” effects of a drilling process that so many energy companies are
Environmental reporting is a regular feature of a number of rushing to utilize.”
the organizations whose representatives signed the declaration, (Lustgarten has continued to pursue the story, as with an
such as the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), founded in 1989 and article in July about “misleading data” provided to Congress by
therefore an early forerunner of the non-profit reporting trend of industry and another in August about a federal investigation
recent years. (Disclosure: I worked for the Center from 2001-03.) of drinking water contamination possibly linked to the
CPI started off publishing its investigative reporting in print drilling method.)
form, but now focuses on online presentations of its findings. Two While online outlet ProPublica’s SEJ-honored project was
of its reports were named the first- and second-place winners in also disseminated via print and broadcast, the third-place winner in
the online category of SEJ’s 8th Annual Awards for Reporting on that same online category was a newspaper, the Minneapolis Star-
the Environment. Tribune, for an investigative project on all-terrain vehicles’
The first-place winner was a package of stories entitled “The damage to public wildlands.
Hidden Costs of Clean Coal.” Sharing the award were Kristen The judges praised the newspaper for “its use of interactive
Lombardi, Steven Sunshine, Sarah Laskow and David Donald. and video multimedia components to enrich the story package.”
The contest judges said, in part: Honored were staff members James Shiffer, David Shaffer,
“In an age of increasingly shallow reports dominating the Tom Meersman, Brian Peterson, continued on page 19
15 SEJournal Fall 2009You can also read
